peaches
Member
I bought a fluval Roma 125 litre and inside it was a Fluval U3. I have used these before and knew I wasnt keen, but it was there, and it seemed churlish not to use it.
A month or so down the line, I dont feel that this filter provides enough movement in the tank. It doesnt suck stuff up. I had diatoms problems and dirty brown bits were grabbed by the moss. I introduced a small powerhead at the side of the bazooka diffuster to blow that round, but that wasnt quite enough. I added another bigger powerhead with a sponge filter on the bottom and a 6 inch jad air driven filter.
Now this works for me, but its messy looking. 3 filters. At this point the answer would be, oh get an external. But I had externals when I kept fancy goldfish, at one point I had 4 externals on different tanks. They all had their evil little ways. The biggest problem was they didnt prime. Followed by the second biggest problem, minor leak from somewhere. Then impeller problems would crop up. The maintenace was spaced out, but when you did clean it oh what a job. I have a bad back so doing all that maintenance on the floor was excruciating. My daughter came to stay and said, I like the fish but they are too much trouble, is it really worth it? My back is worse now. My tank is in a corner and I can just imagine having to move sofa etc to get at the external in the cupboard. By the way, husband wont touch it. He is annoyed Ive got another tank.
The complaints about the U3 are also associated with media. I had to take out the two fine wool and carbon to get a decent flow. You cant have the fine wool in without carbon. If I turn off my cheap and nasty Hidom powerhead with sponge , even with the sponges freshly rinsed, there isnt enough movement.
Has anyone found a filter for a 125 litre tank that is a paragon of virtue and has easy maintenance and good media options?
A month or so down the line, I dont feel that this filter provides enough movement in the tank. It doesnt suck stuff up. I had diatoms problems and dirty brown bits were grabbed by the moss. I introduced a small powerhead at the side of the bazooka diffuster to blow that round, but that wasnt quite enough. I added another bigger powerhead with a sponge filter on the bottom and a 6 inch jad air driven filter.
Now this works for me, but its messy looking. 3 filters. At this point the answer would be, oh get an external. But I had externals when I kept fancy goldfish, at one point I had 4 externals on different tanks. They all had their evil little ways. The biggest problem was they didnt prime. Followed by the second biggest problem, minor leak from somewhere. Then impeller problems would crop up. The maintenace was spaced out, but when you did clean it oh what a job. I have a bad back so doing all that maintenance on the floor was excruciating. My daughter came to stay and said, I like the fish but they are too much trouble, is it really worth it? My back is worse now. My tank is in a corner and I can just imagine having to move sofa etc to get at the external in the cupboard. By the way, husband wont touch it. He is annoyed Ive got another tank.
The complaints about the U3 are also associated with media. I had to take out the two fine wool and carbon to get a decent flow. You cant have the fine wool in without carbon. If I turn off my cheap and nasty Hidom powerhead with sponge , even with the sponges freshly rinsed, there isnt enough movement.
Has anyone found a filter for a 125 litre tank that is a paragon of virtue and has easy maintenance and good media options?